THE PLACE OF WOODLAND 



IN THE FARM ORGANIZATION 



IN COOS COUNTY, NEW HAMPSHIRE 



c/ 



he agriculture of Coos County 

 centers largely around a few 

 products and the demand for 

 farm labor is seasonal. The suc- 

 cess of many farmers is governed by the ability to utilize their labor 

 and equipment to advantage during off seasons. In trying to solve their 

 problem, they have associated themselves, in one way or another, with 

 the forest resources. Some have succeeded through ownership of 

 forest land while others have found it expedient to relate themselves 

 to timber resources owned by others. 



In earlier years, tracts of forest land owned by other individuals 

 and by corporations offered opportunity for off-the-farm employment. 

 The type of work varied greatly, depending upon circumstances. 

 Some individuals acted as contractors during the winter months, ac- 

 cepting responsibility for an entire operation. Others hired out as 

 choppers, teamsters, or performed any one of a number of tasks neces- 

 sary to getting the raw material from "stump to stick." Probably 

 of greatest value to farmers was the function of transportation, done 

 mainly with horses. This particular job furnished the farmer not 

 only an income for his labor but also additional revenue for the use 

 of draft animals and certain equipment which would otherwise be 

 idle. 



During recent years technological developments and depletion 

 of timber resources have considerably altered the situation. Logging 

 activity has diminished vnitil it is confined mainly to pulp and fuel- 

 wood. Tractors and trucks have replaced draft animals in transpor- 

 tation, which is no longer confined to winter. Farmers who do not 

 own forest land or who have limited timber resources have not been 

 able fully to adjust themselves to the changed condition. Failure 

 to make the adjustment has created a problem of using available labor 

 and equipment during the winter months. At the same time, devel- 

 opments in agriculture have placed much of northeastern farming at 

 a disadvantage, making the need for supplementary income even more 

 acute. 



Realizing these problems, the agricultural planning committees 

 in the towns of Colebrook, Columbia, and Stewartstown in Coos 

 County, New Hampshire, (See Fig. 1) asked that this study be made 



